According to the group Minnesota Girls Are Not For Sale, each month in the state at least 213 girls are sold for sex an average of 5 times per day, often on Internet sites like backpage.com.

“This problem is not just an isolated problem or an inner city problem, this is a statewide problem,” said Dan Pfarr, Executive Director of The Bridge, a shelter in Minneapolis that helps troubled kids ages 10 to 17 – many the victims of prostitution.

On any given night in Minnesota, approximately 230 youth under 18 are homeless. The number increases to over 1,000 when including young adults 18-21. In its effort to provide stable housing, Greater Twin Cities United Way Arise Project recently awarded three organizations a combined $94,000 in grants to help combat youth homelessness. The Bridge for Youth, GLBT Host Homes (a program of Avenues for Homeless Youth) and YouthLink were chosen for their “high quality work supporting LGBT homeless youth in Outreach, Homelessness Prevention and Transitional Living and Safe Housing”, said Mark Lozano, Arise Project Chair. Through focused giving, advocacy and volunteering, Arise Project works for positive change by increasing the quality of life in the LGBT community. The announcement was made at the 40th annual Twin Cities PRIDE Festival on June 24.